Digital arrest scam: Octogenarian loses Rs 1.38 crore to callers posing as SBI agents; 2 held
The retired employee was threatened with an anti-money laundering case against him
By Newsmeter Network
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Hyberabad: An 82-year-old retired engineer was forced to transfer Rs 1.38 crore to callers who posed as SBI representatives and threatened to file an anti-money laundering case against him.
The Cyberabad police managed to arrest two persons who orchestrated the elaborate digital arrest fraud.
Victim forced to give Aadhaar details to fake Mumbai cop
The victim received a call (+91 9907433363) from a fraudster posing as an SBI representative. The retired employee was threatened with an anti-money laundering case against him.
He was then connected to a fake Mumbai Cyber Crime officer via WhatsApp (+91 9912150357), who manipulated him into providing his Aadhaar details and falsely implicated him in money laundering. Under pressure, the victim transferred Rs 1,38,60,000 to several bank accounts linked to the fraudsters.
After the complaint was filed, the Cyberabad Cyber Crime team traced the funds to several bank accounts linked to the accused.
They found that a person identified as Sankar Ganesh (46) from Tamil Nadu supplied the bank account details to fraudsters for a 10 per cent commission. His associate, Elanchezhiyan Sathiyavel (45) collected and provided accounts to other fraudsters. The scam was orchestrated by Sachin, Muthukumar and Saleem, who posed as law enforcement officers to trick victims into transferring large sums of money.
On February 18, the Cyber Crime Police arrested A5 (Sankar Ganesh Adaikkalam) in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu and A6 (Elanchezhiyan Sathiyavel) was arrested at Namakalin, Tamil Nadu. Other accused Jesmin Mondal, Sachin, Muthukumar and Saleem are absconding.
The Cyber Crime Police Station, Cyberabad, registered a case (FIR 6817/2024) in September 2024 under sections 204, 318(4),335, 338, 336(3), 340(2) BNS and 66-D of the IT ACT.
Advisory to the public
- Be sceptical of urgent demands for money or personal information such as Aadhaar numbers, bank account numbers or OTPs.
- Always verify the source of the communication and confirm the information with the concerned authorities or institutions.
- Block and report any suspicious numbers, especially when they demand money or personal information.
- Be cautious of links received through messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram or email.
